A Very Blessed Baby

Last weekend Brian and I partook in one of the most wild baby showers that has ever occurred in the history of baby showers. It began at 2pm and didn't conclude until midnight. There were family, friends, fellowship, games, wonderful food, beverages and beautiful Fall Kansas City weather (60 degrees, crisp and sunny)! Deb and Dad did an incredible job of opening their home and hospitality towards the people that are not only SO important to us, but will also be significant members in their future grand-daughter's life. Not to mention how incredibly blessed Brian and I were with the new baby gear: we went from zero to being nearly completely prepared in a matter of hours. Into the late evening, baby and I also got a good workout from belly-laughing at family and their jokes around a fire pit. It does the heart good to hear advice and share laughter with people you love. Thank you again Deb and Dad for a wonderful weekend in KC.

Grandma Janet and I (The woman that labored for ME some 25 odd years ago!)

Uncle Bob (my Godfather) and Aunt Lisa (my sis) working away at some great baby games!

Bill's girls, Aunts Karie and Erin...(my step-sis')

The Future YaYa and Papa Sullivan. Also, dear friend, uncle Chris. :)

Presents!


Special Note: Thank you Aunt Maddie (step-sis) for helping her Mom do the last minute preparations for the big event! Your work with the desserts certainly did NOT go unnoticed...I put some hurt on those...mmmm :)

Sadly and gladly, the Hostess was doing such a good job of running around hosting that she didn't get in any of the Shower photos! :( But here is pic of the lovely Hostess and Host with my Hubby when they visited in September....they are in the flight gear room for the T-45's...

Thank you again! We had such an awesome time!

Funny side note: the trip home was almost as much of a success as the time spent in KC: clear skies, chiefs game on the radio, and with not as strong of a headwind, Brian and I were almost home free at 10:30pm. Then, 20 minutes out from the airport in Alice, TX, we were informed of a flying notam that was issued while we were in the air - a notam that said the airport was closed. CLOSED AIRPORT!?! Uhhhh Where are we supposed to land!?! My skillful pilot found the Kleberg airport a good couple miles south and we landed there, however that is NOT where we parked the car...with the apartment key inside.

Houston air traffic control called and woke up our friend, who came out and gave us a ride to the other airport so we could get our car from Alice, drive back to Kleberg to load it up with our baby goodies and then proceeded home with our new toys, dogs, and us jammed into the VW passat. It wasn't 20 minutes down the road that we saw flashing lights...pulling us over. Come to find out, (and I am totally pleading ignorance on this one), there are night speed limits in Texas as opposed to the day ones. Ultimately, we got a warning, but Juneau cheered up the mood a bit by offering his very scary throaty growl every time the officer approached the car. Maybe we'll drive around with him more often! By the time our heads hit the pillow around 1am we were spent - but it was almost all too comical to be upset. It was just too good of a weekend to be ruined by a late Sunday night - yet, it was a very realistic, "Welcome home to Texas..." Ugh. We're looking forward to Thanksgiving in Kansas :)

Heart Walk and Pooch Plunge

A wonderful weekend in Kingsville is when you get to support a good cause, go outside AND spend some quality time with friends! First off on Saturday morning, Brian and I got to participate in the 2010 Heart Walk of Corpus Christi. Friends of ours feel especially called to support the endeavor because their son was born was numerous tumors on his heart.

Wyatt is a happy and healthy little boy now but due to his past, his family has always supported the American Heart Association. I guess you could say that this organization holds a special place in their....hearts. (Sorry, that was a dumb, but I couldn't stop myself.)
I also have heart disease in my family, so Brian and I certainly enjoyed participating! Along the course there were some basketball hoops set up...I definitely made a couple good shots but my ups aren't what they used to be...little off balance :) How do you like belly poking out? ha


Then, on the FIRST OF NOVEMBER there was a Pooch Plunge on base. This may be the first time I haven't minded hopping in an outdoor pool in November - but when the weather is in the upper 80's and 90's, no one can resist.


The only good cause this goes toward is wearing out your furry canine - and believe me, we love doing that.

Tommy has to wear his life jacket.

Isn't that just Rand-y

I don't know how or why but I felt inspired to read Ayn Rand this past Summer. Due to the length of Atlas Shrugged, my Summer read soon turned into a Fall indulgence. And while it wasn't a gripping read, the journey did prove insightful and thought-provoking as Rand expands upon the conflicting philosophies of objectivism (ultimately, capitalism) and its adversary (socialism).

What struck me the most while reading this was my reoccurring thought of, "why hadn't I read her work before?" In school, I was required to read Thomas More's, Utopia, and Upton Sinclair's, The Jungle, - warning of big business and the need for a bigger government to organize the people. And then there was George Orwell's, 1984, and Aldous Huxley's, Brave New World, that warned people of an absolute power ruling absolutely - i.e. the government. However, it wasn't until I read Rand that I realized that she warned of an over-arching governmental power but she also provided an alternative - the thought that the power of the individual through free thought and open markets will be the solution. Isn't that the sort of place where the "American Dream" is born?

What is fascinating to note is that Rand is herself, the epitome of the American Dream. She was born in Russia in 1905 and eventually found herself extremely opposed to the collectivism of the Russian culture. In her teens she observed a couple revolutions and the ultimate victory for the Communist party. In 1925 she came to the U.S. to visit some relatives, obtained extensions on her visa and became a U.S. citizen in 1931. After living in the U.S. for a while, Rand was able to develop her philosophy of objectivism as illustrated in several of her literary works.

And now, back to Atlas Shrugged - Here are my favorite quotes:

" '...this is the kind of place where one employs nothing but aristocrats for the lousiest kinds of jobs.' 'They're all aristocrats, that's true,' said Wyatt, 'because they know that there's no such thing as a lousy job - only lousy men who don't care to do it.'" (661)

"...man is a being of volitional consciousness" (926)

"The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live." (928)

"...and to settle down into a job that requires less than your mind's full capacity is to cut your motor and sentence yourself to another kind of motion: decay..." (933)

She speaks to the roots of American culture - hard work, power of the individual, production and freedom. These are aspects that are becoming limited day by day now. And while it looks like I'm all on board for Rand and her philosophies, I will admit that I don't like how her "morality" seems so relative, she doesn't believe in a higher calling (i.e. faith in God), and let's face it, anything in it's extreme is just too much - her philosophies have the propensity of being extremely selfish. Does that make her book any less fascinating? Heck no. For those of you that want a view into the power of the individual self-starter and to see in what environment "American Dreams" can be made, relish in this book. Although...make sure you have some time to read it.

In other news: looks like Atlas Shrugged, the movie, will be coming out sometime in 2011; I'd recommend reading it before then!

Lady Redhawks Day 2010

I talked briefly about Lady Redhawk Day in a September post, but now I have more pictures from it! Although, sadly, yours truly isn't as tall as she thought she was - I'm kinda covered up in a lot of these pics, but may I just say, I'm concealed by some of the most beautiful military spouses I've ever seen! :D

Can you see me?...on the far left?



And it looks like goof ball here didn't get the memo for the hand on the hip action....so you can either look for my head towering above all the others OR you can see that I'm the non-conformist without my hand on my hip.

Just to recap the experience more in depth:

All the significant others from Squadron 21 (AKA The Redhawks) wore their sig o's flight suits and toured the VT-21 training facility. First stop for my group was wearing all the flight gear. Every time Brian goes flying, he first puts on a g-suit (which applies pressure to his body once he hits some G forces), next he puts on the harness that attaches to his parachute (aka life insurance) and lastly, the survival vest equipped with radio, pocket knife, buoyancy devices...etc. I've posted this pic before, but here is me wearing it:


After trying on all the equipment, our group went to the simulation building where the volunteers tried to simulate the amazingly cool feeling of what it must be like to be a jet pilot. We pretty much patted each other on the back and talked about how cool we all were - haha, just kidding. Actually, we went into a big dark room where each of us got a shot at flying a simulation flight. It basically feels like a Walt Disney World ride/surround sound video game. I tried to do a loop when it was my turn to fly but I didn't do so well - I'll leave the flying to my husband for now.

After all of us got to play with the Sim flights, we loaded up and went over to the Air Traffic Control Tower. This is, hands down, the best view in all of Kingsville. I had some pics on my phone but then I switched phones and my camera battery died, so all of you will have to imagine it. The tower overlooks the runways...which are swamped with T-45's. We all stood watching T-45's make take-offs and final approaches to and from the air field. Meanwhile, lurking in the south, there was HUGE storm cloud that made the controllers earn their pay for the day. They had to vector students all over the place...avoiding potentially hazardous weather and of course, each other.

Every time we have friends or family in town, we like to go down to the squadron to look at all the T-45's, but I was especially happy to have the extra knowledge about the sim flights, air traffic and knowledge about all the flight gear that not many people can experience. In a nutshell, I have a new-found respect for all my husband does on a daily basis. There's no doubt that he works hard and my favorite part is that I'm fairly certain he loves every bit of what he does. What a Blessing!

The New Page; also know as October

So I had a funny prophecy during a date Brian and I had in September. I looked into his eyes with a heavy heart from a hot summer, contorted-ly pregnant body, and financial woes due to my school loans and I said, "Brian, I feel like we are at a low point living in a hot dinky little town, but I really feel that it's only going to get better from here." This is when we came home from Austin to find our home broken into. I was right, we had hit a low. However, I am happy to admit that the following weeks only got better.

October:
After giving our landlord a months notice that we no longer wanted live in the ghetto, we loaded up our friend's truck (several times) as well as our sedan to move across town to an apartment. And with the ever-protruding frontal side, it was fabulous to have my mom come down to Texas to help. Not only did she provide physical help but mental and emotional help as well. That woman knows just what to say to cause me severe laughter.

And aside from a wooden chair casualty (it spontaneously jumped out of the truck bed to its ultimate demise), the move went well. :)

After moving and attending our friend's wingings in Corpus (CONGRATULATIONS BOB AND STEVE!!!) we had a friend from Enid, Tim, stop into Kingsville. Tim was also recently winged for Helos in Pensacola and was on his way west to San Diego. It was great catching up with him and having my Mom meet some of the people that make odd and small military locations like Enid and Kingsville so much fun.


After my Mom left town - leaving pure cosmos in her wake (I like to refer to her as the antithesis to Murphy's law - things only get more organized when she's around) - my best friend, Jenna, came to town.

When Jenna comes to town, it's like a mental back-packing trip. She asks me these questions that make me think...and think...and then we discuss our philosophies and how they change, what books we're reading, paradigms that have recently been blown open in our lives - you name it and we have probably discussed it. One of the most poignant discussions we had concerned how much of the law and legalism Jesus abolished when he came to earth...what is the new and what is the old? (2 Cor 5:17) With how much freedom do we say what's right or wrong when Jesus tells us judge for ourselves? (Luke 12:57) These are the sort of springboards that challenge me in deep devotionals for months. Thanks Jenna!

Not only did we talk and think...but we also PARTIED! This past weekend was the Navy Ball which included the pilots in the choker whites, dates in formal wear, good meal and beverages and lots of dancing. My sister-in-law sent me the beautiful black maternity dress she wore in my wedding and it arrived hours before the event - Hallelujah!!!


We did happen to have one hiccup in the evening - Brian was determined to open the stubbornly corked red wine bottle at our table...and it didn't go so well. He went home to clean up and then luckily, made it back in time for dinner.





And may I just add, the Macarena is really hard to do with a Santa stomach.


We got Jenna off to the airport yesterday in order that she can continue being studious in her medical pursuits and now it's just me and the boys again in our cozy little home! October has been great so far - now if the temperature would continue declining, that would only make it better! (dumb weather forecast is predicting it will be in the low 90's this week - UGH - NO MORE!!!) I'll make Apple Bread and drink Sparkling Cider no matter what the weather is out there! YAY FALL!!!

Baby Update - Month 7

I'm growing like a weed - in the horizontal direction! Month #7 has been a busy one for not only me but for the little growth inside me. As we were moving from a house to an apartment at the beginning of this month, she's been moving and shaking in the increasingly smaller home she's ever known - my stomach! (i.e. uterus)

As I write this, I am 30 weeks along and the little one is about 3 lbs and 10 inches long (crown to rump length) OR 18 inches long including those Clements legs. (...an extra inch could be from the size of the Jones noggin' on Brian's side - yikes!) Either way, she continues to be healthy and has a heart rate of 140. My RN says that my belly is "all baby" - too bad my double chin can't be "all baby" too...although, it would be quite difficult to carry a baby on your chin - that tangent kinda reminds me of the weird prego dreams I've been having....anyway...

So far I have no major complaints. I do notice that my shirts are coming up a little higher, I'm having a little more difficulty getting up from the sitting position, and I had one evening of calf pain that the International Criminal Court would have qualified as torture. I've coped by bargain shopping, asking Brian to get me things instead of constantly getting up, and drinking loads more water along with up-ing my intake of calcium and magnesium. It's all an adjustment!

Here is the latest Belly PIC!

Brian's face illustrates the force in which he's trying to get his stomach out as far as mine, but he doesn't stand a chance. I'm gaining almost a pound a week at this point! (or supposed to be...) 10 more weeks to go until GO time!

Baby Update - Month 6

The baby bump is becoming less bump-like and more bulge-like. At 6 months, the little baby's growth is on target and goodness, is she moving! She normally does a routine workout before I go to bed every night, otherwise, during the day, she's pretty chill. The recent consistency in movement has made her future dad go out and make his first baby purchase:

(For those of you that didn't know...next to flying, Harley's are Brian's second passion...)

Meanwhile, I went to the doctor yesterday and she mentioned that my blood pressure was a little high. This is where I began explaining the abnormalities of the past week and she said that we'll do a follow-up this Friday. I think that means that Brian needs to wait on me hand and foot this week - he doesn't know this yet...I'm sure he won't mind. :)

Going back this Friday will be helpful because I'll get the results back from my gestational diabetes test around then. (They put all pregnant woman through that test around week 25). By the way, the little one's heart rate was at 140 and our weight gain seems to be on target - (babe only weighs a little over 1.5 lbs of the 18 lb I've put on - WOW!) It's all good and normal!

Why my Blood Pressure might be High

The Latest from September 10-20 (Highlights and Low lights):
Went on Date with Husband in Austin, TX (soo romantic)

Had an awesome time and saw the Punch Brothers
Came home to find that our house had been robbed
6 to 7 thousand dollars worth gone

Told landlord we wanted to move
She said, "okay"
Then she said, "No - or I will take legal action"
We are trying to figure out what to do with that
Filed renters insurance claim
Waiting for insurance claim results
Been cruising the pawn shops for our stolen goods
I got to go to base and pretend to be Brian for a day

Dad and Deb came to town and helped us forget our complaints with cheese, wine, scotch and family relaxation


While dropping Dad and Deb at the airport, we almost floated away in the VW passat due to the TX flooding
40" of rain this yr whereas last yr they had about 9"


Yesterday
Doc appointment said that my blood pressure is a little high
Pipes at rental (that we want to move away from) clogged rendering the dishwasher and washing machine un-useable until the landlord gets back with us

What's going to happen this week!?!

Tropical Storm Hermine

A gorgeous labor day weekend in Kansas City was cut short due to a tropical storm called Hermine. And no, no one knows how to pronounce it...

For those of you raised in the Midwest and may not recall your tropical meteorology courses - tropical storms aren't as bad as hurricanes but they are stronger than a tropical depression. Depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes (bad weather) are all low pressure systems whereas the gorgeous 70 and 80 degree sunny weather we experienced in Kansas City is typically due to a high pressure system. This means that as a high pressure system was moving into KC this past labor day weekend, we were fighting headwinds to get up north. When we had to return back to Kingsville to batten the hatches, a low pressure system was moving in from the south, meaning that we had headwinds the whole way back home too - we just couldn't win! Although, I would much rather take a 6-7 hour flight than an 18 hour drive.

Due to Hermine creeping along the coast, we had to leave the plane in San Antonio, (2 hours north of us), and drove the rest of the way Monday evening. Sheets of rain were beginning the further south we drove but I don't think it hit its apex until about 430 am Tuesday morning. I woke up to what sounded like the emergency alert broadcasting system when actually it was some sort of loud reptile or bug singing through the wind and rain. I woke up to check the radar and this is what I found:


Watch out KC - according to the trajectory, it's going to hit you next! :)


When I woke up the next morning, tree limbs were everywhere. The Kingsville School district was closed for the day as well as the Texas A&M campus next door. While 40 to 50 mph winds can be pretty wicked in the Midwest, they pack more of a wallop down here due to all the weak little shacks that people live in and tree/shrubs that don't have much of a root system. Most of our Navy friends that live in an apartment complex close to base lost their power for most of the next day.


Juneau and Tommy didn't know what happened; they're just glad that their toys were still in the backyard.

I Feel YOU! ergo, I shall prepare for you...

For the first time in my pregnancy, I have undoubtedly felt little kicks in my belly over the past week. The only way I can describe it is imagining that you have little smurf inside of your stomach poking around with a big blue cartoon finger. I was originally going to write it off as indigestion, but then I realized that I could feel the poking by placing my hand on my stomach. I can FEEL YOU!

One afternoon she was being especially active and I told Brian to sit down with me; I put his hand on my stomach (secretly possessing a fear that she would stop the moment he tried to feel a kick) and instantly, she alerted him to her presence. I think Brian responded with a "whooooaa..." and then he said, "Hey, why is she doing that to you? Does it hurt? We're going to have some words once she gets out here..." He's going to be a great father :-)

Luckily, the movements have not felt uncomfortable. Maybe a kick here and tug on the umbilical cord there...the only thing that makes me feel odd is when she pokes at my bladder. For once in my life I stand there thinking, "do I have to go the restroom or is she just tricking me?" At only a pound in weight, she can't do much; but I heard that it's only a matter of time before the pokes get stronger and she throws an elbow into my ribs. Although, I kinda look forward to that elbow because then I know she'll be a FUTURE BALLA!!! Overall, I'm thrilled to know that she's moving!

This heightened sense of her presence made me realize this past week that we have absolutely nothing in preparation for her. Wellll, I guess we have 3 baby onesies/bodysuit thingies and a gorgeous white baptism blanket that my grandma made - so maybe we could handle one day of being parents, but otherwise...hmmm
SO this week, I began registering!

I tried out Babies R Us, their website was NO WHERE as easy to search and register as Diapers.com. Diapers had everything - organic and cloth diapers, diverse stroller options, cool baby gear...the majority of what we want and will most certainly need can be found on this website. But, I also registered at Target.com. Let's face it, despite their awful return policies, they have the market on some really cute clothes, good detergent for washing cloth diapers, and Johnson & Johnson bathing supplies. I look forward towards the end of this next month when my mom comes to town to help me complete the registry in person! For being a newbie at this, I look forward to hearing her motherly wisdom - Thank GOD for Moms!

As for Baby furniture - they all look like boxy prison furniture...except for these two bedroom sets. If anyone can find this two-tone look for cheaper than listed on these websites, please let me know!

This set I found on simplybabyfurniture.com


I found this at Overstock.com



A special note of thanks goes out to my sister-in-law: I began registering this week, looked at all the baby options and instantly became overwhelmed - due to her brilliance in mothering 4 of my beautiful nieces and nephews, she helped me keep my focus :-) Thanks Lindsay! Feel free to check out her great blog...